Sign



April 2o, 193.7. w. E. JOOST 2,077,759

SIGN

Filed Dec. 5l, 1935 Patented Apr. Z0, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SIGN William E. Joost, Oakland, Calif.

Application December 31, 1935, Serial No. 56,974

3 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in illuminated advertising signs.

It is an object of the invention to provide a sign in which the illuminating means is concealed from view so as to eliminate glare.

Another object of the invention is to provide a double-faced sign utilizing but a single light source to illuminate both of the sign faces.

The broader aspects of the invention may be readily seen upon reference to the drawing in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the sign.

Figure 2 is a front elevational View of the sign.

Figure 3 is a view of the sign, partly in side elevation and partly in Vertical section. The plane in which the sectional portion of the view is taken is indicated' by the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a horizontal sectional view of a portion of one of the sign plates. The plane in which this View is taken is indicated by the line 4-4 of Figure 2.

I have chosen to illustrate my invention, for the purpose of description, in the form of the familiar roadside sign employed by most all automotive service stations. It will be obvious however that with but slight modification and without departing in a large degree from the spirit of the invention, the sign may be used both indoors and outdoors.

In detail, the structure comprises a standard 5, Whose lower end is usually secured in a concrete anchor block 6, which block is imbedded in the ground so as to support the standard rigidly in an upright position. The upper end of the standard is tted with a sleeve 'I having a cup-shaped flange 8 extending radially therefrom. Fixed in the concavity of the flange is a socket 9 in which a lamp I0 is placed to provide a source of illumination. The standard 5 is hollow, being preferably composed of pipe, to allow for passage therethrough of the necessary conductors which carry current to energize the lamp.

Secured to the rim of the flange 8 by suitable screws or rivets, and extending upwardly therefrom, is a pair of divergent fan-shaped sign plates II joined together, for the provision of rigidity, at their upper ends by a bracing bar I2. These sign plates, asis shown in the drawing, are, at their lower ends, positioned closely adjacent each other above the lamp I0 and are each provided with a notch I3 in which the lamp lies so that the latter will project outwardly beyond the surface of each plate an equal amount. The plates may be constructed of flat sheet material but they are preferably formed, as is shown in Figure 4, with (Cl. l0-126) corrugations I4 so as to render them as rigid and self-supporting as possible.

Also secured to the rim of the flange 8, and enclosing the lamp Ill, is a pair of opposed, slightly divergent, reflectors I5. These reflectors are so positioned that they will interceptlight rays from the lamp and direct them on to the surfaces of the sign plates so that the latter will be completely illuminated. The shape of the reflectors is made to blend harmoniously with the design of the sign plates.

Means are provided for intercepting light rays reflected from predetermined areas of the sign plates so as to form letters which contrast to a maximum degree with the illumination of the plates. Spaced from the surface of each sign plate, and secured thereto by means of rods I6 are letters I'I formed of light-impervious sheet material, these letters being so positioned with respect to the sign plates and reflectors that no l light rays from the lamp I0 can strike their outer faces.

It will be thus seen that, when the sign is illuminated, the sign plates will be flooded with light but the letters I'I will intercept all of the light rays reflected from the areas of the sign plates lying immediately thereunder, in registry With the line of Vision of an observer, resulting in the letters appearing densely black against the illuminated background.

While it is contemplated to use the new sodium vapor lamp as the source of illumination it will be obvious that any type of lamp may be used, such as neon lamps, either formed in coils 0r grids, or the conventional type of incandescent lamp.

It has been found, under actual conditions of use, that the appearance of the sign of my invention both in daylight and when illuminated at night, is very pleasing to the eye, there is no bothersome glare therefrom, such as is the case with signs using exposed illuminating means, and, due to the novel positioning of the letters, to provide for a maximum of contrast between them and the background of the sign, they are readable at a greater distance than are the signs of other types.

I claim:

1. A display sign comprising a support, a pair of superposed plates each having in an edge thereof a notch in registry with the notch in the other plate to provide a recess, a lamp carried by said support and positioned in said recess to project light rays on to the exposed surface of each plate, a pair of reflectors enclosing said lamp and positioned to reflect light rays from said lamp on to the exposed surfaces of said plates, and light impervious characters spaced from and supported by each plate for obscuring portions of the illuminated surface thereof.

2. A display sign comprising a support, a pair of superposed plates each having in an edge thereof a notch in registry With the notch in the other plate to provide a recess, a lamp carried by said support and positioned in said recess to project light rays on to the exposed surface of each plate, a pair of reectors enclosing said lamp and positioned to reflect light rays from said lamp on to the exposed surfaces of said plates, and light impervious characters spaced from and supported l5 by each plate for obscuring portions of the i1- luminated surface thereof, said characters having a surface positioned out of the paths of drect rays from said lamp and reected rays from the surfaces of said plates.

3. A display sign comprising a support, a pair of superposed plates each having in an edge thereof a notch in registry with the notch in the other plate to provide a recess, a lamp carried by said support and positioned in said recess to project light rays on to the exposed surface of each plate, and a pair of reflectors for reflecting light rays from said lamp on to the exposed surfaces of said plates, said reflectors overlying and obscuring said lamp and said recess.

WILLIAM E. JOOST. 

